SHIFT Communications: Boston PR Agency Founded in 2003

SHIFT Communications is a Boston-founded PR agency, created in 2003 by Jim Joyal, Todd Defren and Ed Weiler, that issued what is widely cited as the first social media press release in 2006. NATIONAL Public Relations acquired it in 2016, and AVENIR GLOBAL now describes it as a performance communications agency and a division of Padilla, with offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco.

Originally published November 2020. Updated October 18, 2026.

What is SHIFT Communications?

SHIFT Communications is a Boston PR and marketing agency that built its name on early adoption of social media and on data-driven PR that ties programs to measurable business results. AVENIR GLOBAL's site calls it a performance communications agency, and a SHIFT job listing uses the same description.

How did SHIFT start?

Jim Joyal, Todd Defren and Ed Weiler took over the clients and assets of the former PR firm Sterling Hager in 2003 and relaunched it as SHIFT, according to Wikipedia. The firm grew to offices in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Austin before settling on its current three-city footprint.

What was the social media press release?

In 2006, days after journalist Tom Foremski published a blog post calling for the end of the press release, SHIFT created a structured, multimedia-friendly template it called a social media release. It is widely cited as the first from any agency, and Wikipedia notes the idea is now used in public relations courses.

Who owns SHIFT now?

NATIONAL Public Relations announced the acquisition on May 4, 2016. PRovoke reported that SHIFT's revenue rose 10.8 percent in 2015 to $20.4 million, against about $67 million for NATIONAL.

In November 2017, the Holmes Report reported that Defren was stepping down and managing partner Amy Lyons would take over running SHIFT. The same announcement unveiled AVENIR GLOBAL as the holding company for NATIONAL's brands.

AVENIR GLOBAL's newsroom later carried an item headed "Padilla adds SHIFT to its portfolio of operating brands," and its site now lists SHIFT as a division of Padilla alongside FoodMinds and Joe Smith. In a separate AVENIR GLOBAL announcement, Rick Murray, a PR veteran with more than 20 years of agency leadership in the U.S. and Canada, was named managing partner of SHIFT. For Padilla itself, see EPR's Padilla profile.

What are the key facts about SHIFT?

How does SHIFT compare with other agencies?

SHIFT is a mid-sized agency that became part of a larger network. Compare it with Padilla and other firms in EPR's PR agency profiles directory.

Related: PR agency profiles directory · Padilla · 5W Public Relations